Saskatoon is the most populous city in the province of Saskatchewan, and has been since the mid-1980s when it surpassed the provincial capital of Regina.[4] The city had a population of 202,340 in the Canada 2006 Census,[5] with a civic estimate of 231,900 in 2010.[6] The city's census metropolitan area had a population of 233,923 in the 2006 Census.[7] Statistics Canada estimated Saskatoon's CMA population as 265,000 as of July 1, 2010.[8]

Aboriginal Peoples

The Saskatoon area was inhabited long before any permanent settlement was established, to which the ongoing archaeological work at Wanuskewin Heritage Park and other locations bears witness. Canada's First Nations population has been increasingly urbanized, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Saskatoon, where the First Nations population increased by 382% from 1981 to 2001;[20] however, a portion of this increase, possibly as much as half, is believed to be due to more people identifying themselves as Aboriginal in the census rather than migration or birth rate. Saskatoon has a higher percentage of First Nations population than any other major Canadian city[21] at nearly 9%, although Winnipeg and Regina both exceed 8%; in certain neighbourhoods such as Pleasant Hill, this percentage exceeds 40%. Most First Nations residents are of Cree or Dakota cultural background although to a lesser extent Saulteaux, Assiniboine, and Dene communities also exist.

Saskatoon also has a substantial Métis population and is close to the historically significant Southbranch Settlements to the north, as well as the Prairie Ronde settlement near Dundurn, Saskatchewan. The majority of the west side of the city is home to most of the aboriginal population.